Luxembourg’s banks, one of the biggest employers in Luxembourg’s financial sector, are engaging in staff management practices that leave many of their staff dissatisfied, especially in the area of pay, according to a representative of a union representing financial sector employees who contrasted the banks’ record with what she considered a better approach from the insurance industry.
This emerged in an interview with the OGBL union’s main secretary Sylvie Reuter, which followed the 14 March release of a union report showing that more than half of the 450 financial sector staff (not just union members) surveyed think “often” or “very often” about leaving the financial sector..
Reuter admitted that the union was surprised at how high the figure was. “Yes, we knew that there are some that are so stressed that if they could they would, but that it is in this range, yeah, we were surprised.”
Rising stress
The levels of stress in the financial sector generally are mounting, Reuter said. When yearly mental health and safety assessments required by the banking sector union contract showed a definite increase - “it’s high. And they know” - Reuter met with the banks about it. The banks’ response, she said, was a request to “change the narrative”, which she rejected as an inadequate response.
The banks concede that we’re living in times of disruption, with many geopolitical challenges. “But if we were to ask the question in other sectors, I think people have the same worries,” said Paul Wilwertz, press spokesman for ABBL, the association of Luxembourg banks.
Asked about whether anyone does a better job than banking at treating their staff, Reuter was clear: “The insurance sector has developed a profile in Luxembourg as an excellent centre,” said Sylvie Reuter of the OGBL union. “The collective bargaining scales are much higher than in banking.
Highest salaries
The banks, while refusing to comment on the insurance industry, don’t agree. “The financial world is the place where you get the highest salaries. People here in Luxembourg are quite well paid,” said Wilwertz, adding that this includes those in administrative positions.
“The insurance sector for me has not just changed the narrative, they have changed significantly in the past five years,” said Reuter, who pointed to a high level of investment from ACA, the insurance body, as well as the sector’s representation at many international events. “They completely invest in their marketing and their actions and their international excellence centre in insurance.”
She said she has seen no such efforts from the banking sector, who she said spends a lot of time talking about having to comply with regulations and pay social costs such as wage indexation, “They are always complaining, complaining, complaining,” she said. “They’ve been complaining for 20 years.”
Training & upskilling
“I think there is not a business area in Luxembourg where you get more training and upskilling: upskilling meaning that we invest in people so that they can cope with all this challenge of digitization, sustainable finance,” said Wilwertz. “So just saying that banks are sitting there and just complaining, I think that’s totally wrong.”
Given how often it’s stated that Luxembourg is desperate to attract talent, you would get the impression that those who come are treated well. “That’s not what the youngsters say,” said Reuter. “People starting in finance say “they promised me this and this and this.”
Investing in staff
When it comes to digitalisation and artificial intelligence, “we need to invest in staff, maintain staff, secure jobs, retain talents in finance” Reuter said. “Not only getting new talents as the OECD is saying that Luxembourg needs new talents – we need to retain talents and we need to see that even people who have five years’ or ten years’ service are talents, because it costs to invest in getting new ones and changing them every two years cost more.”
It’s a question of giving people due value, Reuter said. “Staff that are working are not seen as an investment, but as a cost.” When better treatment is requested, they always say “you are asking too much – we have international headquarters” to answer to. “But you can’t do just that – you can press a lemon as much as you can, but once there’s no more in it, you need to invest in new lemons.”